Bottle Conditioned

Last night, I dropped by the liquor store (Red Dog Wine and Spirits in Franklin, TN) to grab a bottle of white wine that I needed to cook with. As is usual, I made sure to check out the beer selection while I was there. One particular beer stood out at me: Gale’s Prize Old Ale. It stood out for one particular reason - it was bottled in 1996! Immediately, I decided I needed to give this a try, picked up a bottle (at the very reasonable price of $3.99) and brought it home (I also got a bottle of Stone’s Vertical Epic…but that’s another post).

Mollie and I sat down before dinner to give this beer a try. If anything should be a testament to the benefits of cellaring beer, this one certainly showed the worth in it. The beer poured a nice deep brown, and we drank it from snifters. The nose on the beer was incredible! Cedar wood, chocolate, prunes, raisins, black cherry…amazing. Indeed, the taste was right in line with the nose, with most of the same notes coming out (save the cedar wood) in the flavor. In addition, a nicely balanced sourness was apparent in the beer, which added a nice extra layer of complexity. Carbonation was low, which was expected, and the alcohol content, although at a nice 9%, was tempered and melded nicely into the background of the beer.

Overall, it was a pretty awesome experience. In 1996, I had just gotten my driver’s license, Bill Clinton was president, and the words “”blog” and “podcast” sounded like some alien language. This beer has seen many changes from inside its small, unassuming bottle over the past few years. The taste in the beer was what you’d expect from a beer that had been aged for that long - very complex. At the end of the glass, I was still pulling out various flavors that had surfaced up as the beer warmed. Luckily, there were no apparent signs of oxidation (at least, not offensively) or light striking, so it seems the beer was stored well for its long slumber.

Very recommended. If you can find a bottle, I’d buy a few and drink them over the years. Just don’t go buy them from my liquor store - they’re all mine

P.S. Food pairing note: This beers seems like it will go great with a flank steak or London Broil on the grill. Something with a nice amount of smoky char. We’re going to try this pairing soon - I’ll let you know what we think.

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I’m writing this post as I sit on a brown leather couch, situated in a dark cigar bar, smoking a Rocky Patel Edge. Almost perfect. Two things are missing: my wife (who’s still at home in Nashville), and a good beer. This seems to be an ongoing battle in the hotel.

Luckily, the short selection is limited to the hotel. I visited a great beer and cigar/pipe shop called The Pipe and Pint over here in Greensboro. Firstly, I’ve got to say, the owner is top notch. Incredibly helpful and very, very nice. The beer selection was also top notch. Unfortunately, as I sit here, the names of the beers I purchased there are escaping me, but I’ll post with a full list soon.

Meanwhile, back to the hotel selection. Although sparse, there are a few notables that I haven’t had the pleasure of trying until now. Two of these that I want to make sure I mention are both from the Oskar Blues brewery: Oskar Dale’s Pale Ale and Oskar Old Chub Scottish Style Ale. I don’t have detailed tasting notes, but suffice to say that both get my approval, despite an interesting delivery - they’re both canned beers.

If you’ve listened to the podcast for any amount of time, you may have heard me talk about beers in cans. Although some people note the advantages (better seal and protection from air, no light striking), I’ve never been convinced of the validity of cans. As the brewer for Kelly’s Carribean Bar and Grill pointed out (check out our brewery spotlight from Key West for this conversation), cans are made of metal, and metal conducts heat very well. As a result, beer in cans is more susceptable to temperature swings as the metal on the can changes temperature.

Regardless of my thoughts, these were both great beers and may change my mind on cans - a little. I still think that cans have a greater risk of being mistreated by careless distributors, but in good hands, they may just be OK.

So, I recommened the Oskar Blues stuff. Make sure to check it out if you can. Another beer that I had, and also really liked was Highland’s Kashmir IPA. Great beer if you can get it. I think I’ve had it before, but this reaffirmed my position.

So, if you care (and if you’re reading this blog, you must care a little), the beer in Greensboro is looking good so far. No doubt, whenever you can go out of state, it’s nice to get your hands on some stuff you can’t get at home.

More on the other beer later…I’ve got a cigar waiting on me.

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Sorry it’s been a bit since an update. I’m out of town on business, but wanted to at least comment on the beer selection where I’m at.

I arrived today in Greensboro, NC, and as is custom, I first figured out where the beer was. I got in around mid afternoon and settled on a place called Natty Greene’s for dinner. Natty Greene’s is a brewpub, and a great one at that. With 5 regular beers and 6 seasonals, selection was great. I chose to go for the hop portfolio and had an IPA and IIPA with dinner. Both were very nice. The IPA was an English style IPA with the hops being more subdued than you’d expect out of the American interpretation. Still, it was a great beer. The IIPA was also very good, however, it was a tad on the sweet side. Not quite cloying, but moving toward a bit too much sweetness for me. Malt and hop character was nice, but that sweet characteristic continued to get in the way. Oh well.

So, as I sit in the room and blog, I’m sipping on a Lost Coast Brewery 8 Ball Stout that I brought along with me. I brought some beer (really, an amalgamation of a ton of various beers) with me, because I didn’t know what to expect out of Greensboro’s beer scene. More on that scene in a moment.

The 8 Ball (or is it “Eight Ball”) Stout is a pretty good example of the style. By taste, I pin it as a Foreign Extra Stout. Beer Advocate puts it as an American Stout but i’m not sure it’s all the way there. I’ll call it as sitting in the middle between these two styles. The body is a bit thin for my tastes, with a bit too much astringent bitterness on the back. There is a nice roasty character that finishes with hints of dark chocolate and a tapering roasty cappuccino note. Not bad. Not great, but not bad. Overall, I’d recommend giving it a shot, but I doubt it’ll be a regular in your cellar.

So, back on to Greensboro and the beer selection here. So far, I’ve rooted out two places to check for beer tomorrow: The Pipe and Pint (where I can also get a cigar…a big plus), and Total Wine, which is within walking distance of my hotel. I’m excited to see what they’ve got. I’ve got a feeling I’ll be able to get a bunch of Duck Rabbit stuff, which is great beer. Also, Bells, Allagash, Brooklyn Brewery, Avery and Victory should all be present. If so, I’ll be quite happy.

I’ll post again tomorrow (so I say) to let ya’ll know what I ended up with.

Oh, by the way, if you’re driving through Asheville, stop at Bruisin’ Ales. It’s located downtown and has an awesome selection of beer. Not a huge place, but probably the best quality beer I’ve ever seen in one single location. Worth the trip…trust me.

That’s it for tonight. I’ll post again once I see what kind of beer I can get into over here.

Until then…

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I was reminded again today why I spend a good deal of time every week producing a podcast and blog about craft beer.

This afternoon, as I meandered my way toward lunch, I dropped by the bank to deposit a check. The check was from a sponsor on our podcast, and I was depositing it into the bank account dedicated to the show. As I handed the bank teller the deposit slip and check, she noted the name and inquired about it: “Davis On Draft? Does that have something to do with drafting?” I paused for a moment, wondering if I ought to delve into explaining what a podcast is, and why it’s about craft beer, but I went ahead. “Actually, it has to do with craft beer”. Instead of being puzzled, she seemed satisfied and said that she was going to guess that next. I went on to explain podcasting and what we do, which launched us into a fairly in depth discussion about craft beer. This mildly shocked me as the otherwise monotone middle-aged woman sprang to life in the context of this conversation.

After a few minutes of conversing about craft beer, microbreweries, and The Great American Beer Tour, I left in pursuit of my lunch. As I walked toward my car, I starting thinking about our conversation and how interesting it was that the subject of craft beer had sparked such an interaction.

It turns out, this isn’t all that uncommon. Mollie and I attend monthly networking meetings for entrepreneurs here in Nashville, and I’ve seen the same thing happen here. As we walk around and talk to people at these meetings, everyone is business-focused and serious, trying desperately to make contacts and generate leads. However, as soon as we mention what we do, a different side of people pops up and a relaxed and fun conversation about craft beer ensues.

Talking about great beer excites people. It brings out the relaxed, fun side of people, and can bridge the gap between two people who otherwise would never come together. Not only that, but people want to learn about craft beer. They want to tell you about great beer they’ve had and learn about the beer you’ve had. They want to ask questions about different styles, where to buy it, and how to drink it.

People simply want to know more about beer - and they’re everywhere. From bank tellers to CEOs, there is a common need and desire to learn more about the better beer out there. Find someone this week and strike up a conversation about great beer. Chances are, they’ll tell you about a beer they had while they were traveling, or a beer that one of their relatives or friends love. They may even tell you that they brew their own beer - or that they host a podcast about it. Either way, there’s a little bit of beer lover - craft beer lover - in almost everyone.

And that’s why we do this.

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